Investigators suspected David Allan Morrison, 52, in the death of Sarah Hunter almost right away, but they didn’t have enough evidence to charge him, until this week.

“Detectives interviewed Morrison on two occasions, once in 1986 and again in 1987,” said Vermont State Police Lt. Tim Oliver. “However, there was insufficient evidence at this time to arrest him for Sarah's murder.”

Hunter disappeared on the night of Sept. 19, 1986. Her car was found abandoned at a gas station on Route 7A in Manchester, Vt.

Morrison worked at another gas station less than 200 feet away.

Hunter’s body was found on Thanksgiving Day next to a corn field in Pawlet, Vt.

In 1988, Morrison left Vermont for Chula Vista, Calif. Later that year, he was convicted of attacking two women there. He was sentenced to 20 years-to-life in prison.

Those convictions caught the eye of Sgt. David Bavencoff of National City, Calif. Bavencoff thought Morrison’s crimes were similar to a cold case he was investigating -- the 1986 murder of Lisa Bell.

“He was never interviewed in our case,” Bavencoff said. “I couldn't find any indication that he'd been interviewed in our case so I decided I should go talk to him,”

Those conversations, and research into cases across the country, led Bavencoff to call Vermont investigators.

“Information obtained during interviews with Morrison by the National City Police Department renewed [Vermont investigators’] suspicions that Morrison was responsible for the death of Sarah Hunter,” Oliver said.

Morrison had little to say about the case Bavencoff was investigating, the sergeant said.

“He vehemently denied having anything to do with Lisa Bell,” Bavencoff said. “He said flat out, 'I don't know who she was and had nothing to do with her.'”

But, Bavencoff received a different response when he mentioned Hunter.

“Every time I mentioned Sarah Hunter, he did not deny being involved in Sarah Hunter's murder,” Bavencoff said. “In fact, he made several incriminating statements regarding that murder.”

DNA evidence previously unavailable in 1986 places Hunter in Morrison’s car.Vermont State Police said the detective’s work 3,000 miles away played an important role in closing this case.

“To be able to assist them in closing their case does make me feel good,” Bavencoff said.Lisa Bell’s death remains a mystery to authorities in California.

Morrison faces extradition to Vermont to face first-degree murder charges in the case of Hunter.

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